Found
by Quicksilvermad
Summary: It was absurd. She didn't have a scratch on her and she was hugging onto Daryl's neck with all her strength.


_**Disclaimer:** _All rights for _The Walking Dead_ go to Robert Kirkman and AMC.  
><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_ I _had_ to write a lighthearted scene of Sophia's return after watching "Cherokee Rose" and seeing the preview for next week. Because I don't think we'll get any "lighthearted" breaks next Sunday night and I need this. So I'm sharing. It's not the best thing I've written, but it's cathartic.

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><p>Carol was sitting on Hershel's front porch mending a tear in Shane's tent when she caught sight of Daryl walking out of the woods. It took her several seconds to realize that he wasn't alone.<p>

His arms were hooked around a pair of familiar little legs and two skinny arms were holding on to his neck. Daryl turned his head to say or ask something of Sophia and offered Carol the chance to see her daughter's face for the first time in five very long days. Sophia was filthy but looked no worse for the wear.

She was smiling and laughing at whatever Daryl said to her.

It was absurd. She didn't have a scratch on her and she was hugging onto Daryl's neck with all her strength. Still sunburnt and freckled and so _alive_ that Carol started to sob.

She wanted to run out and meet them halfway but found her knees buckling when she went to stand up. The tent slid out of her lap and her sewing kit dropped down the steps. The noise alerted Glenn just inside the house. He ran out with his hand immediately reaching for the bat he had leaning against the door and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what she was staring at.

Flabbergasted that the man who was so set in the belief that he'd find the little girl _actually_ found her, Glenn removed his hat and let out a low whistle.

"Holy shit," he muttered.

Carol laughed through her tears and found her strength again. She pitched forward off the porch and sprinted into the clearing with her arms stretched wide. Sophia let out a happy squeal when she saw her mother running and Daryl wished the pair of them weren't so tired. Otherwise he'd let the little girl off his back so she could be with her mother and he could head straight to the shower he'd been putting off in favor of completing his search.

Instead, Daryl trudged onward, crossbow smacking him in the thigh and shin as he moved as fast as his feet could carry him without jarring Sophia too much. He adjusted his grip around her knobby knees and couldn't help but smile at the look on Carol's face as she caught up with them.

"Oh my God!" Carol launched her body the last few feet and Daryl found himself sandwiched between mother and daughter.

At first, he had no idea what was going on and adjusted his body weight accordingly to avoid falling on his ass.

The three of them had an audience gathering, but Daryl was too busy trying to figure out what in the hell he was supposed to do when hugged. It was awkward enough when Sophia practically tackled him at the waist when he found her. He supposed it was alright as long as Carol let go of him soon, but that wasn't looking very feasible.

Carol was laughing for the first time in far too long and reached one hand up to touch Daryl's face. Without even thinking of the action, she leaned forward and kissed his dirt-smudged cheek to the right of the mole just above the corner of his lip.

Daryl's previous discomfort from being hugged was suddenly focused on that spot and he nearly dropped Sophia out of shock. After a moment he reared his head back to look at Carol.

"What in the hell was that for?" he asked.

Carol glanced over his shoulder at her daughter—tiny chin propped heavily against Daryl's shoulder and eyes drooping shut with fatigue—and patted at his cheek one last time. "For not giving up," she said.

He shrugged and adjusted Sophia's limpet-like grip around his neck to keep her from choking him (again). "Told ya I'd find her," he said flippantly.

Carol nodded and finally let him go. Together, the three walked the remaining distance to the farmhouse and Daryl tiredly handed Sophia off to her mother to better assess her overall well-being with Hershel's help. Carol brushed her hand across his arm one last time and Daryl fought his natural urge to flinch. On his way inside, he avoided a hug from Lori by skittishly side-stepping the hand she reached out. She smiled softly and nodded at him instead.

"No hugs. I get it," she said. "Shower's yours. Come down to the kitchen when you're done so you can eat somethin' filling and tell us how you found her."

Daryl grunted and, dubious about Lori's ability to lift the weight, carefully handed her his crossbow. It looked like it weighed more than she did. When Lori struggled a little in hefting the weapon over her own shoulder, Daryl allowed himself one last tired laugh and carefully slid past her.

"Don't fall over now," he warned.

Lori just smiled and rolled her eyes. She discretely made sure he had some clean things to change into once he was done cleaning himself up and handed the crossbow over to Glenn for safe keeping. Quietly, she returned to Carl's bedside to tell him and Rick the good news.

Carol listened raptly as her daughter murmured tiredly about how Daryl found her and told her all about the time he got lost in the woods when he was about her age. Sophia was excited to be back with her family and so eager to see everyone again (and immediately) but soon fell prey to her fatigue. She fell asleep right in the middle of sipping some Gatorade.

Holding Sophia's warm hand in both of her own, Carol finally realized that this was really happening. She hadn't fallen asleep on the porch in the warm afternoon light. She hadn't imagined seeing the strangest, most honest man she'd ever known carrying Sophia on his back and (apparently) telling her jokes she would rather not hear repeated. She did not want to think about what would have happened had he not been with the group when Sophia first vanished.

Carol leaned her forehead against Sophia's and thanked God for Daryl Dixon.


End file.
